Today, I’m adding more games to the list of games that have seen improvements when played on Nintendo Switch 2. Let’s have a look!
Saints Row: The Third: The Full Package
Genre: Open-World Action-RPG
Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Wireless, Online)
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Review:
(Note: This game is included in the Saints Row: The Big Purple Package compilation, along with Saints Row IV: Re-Elected)
Saints Row the Third: The Full Package has had a really tumultuous run on Nintendo Switch, from a disastrous launch to a patch that greatly-improved things, and now the question is how things have changed on Nintendo Switch 2. I should note that it isn’t reflected in my original review, but the price has since dropped from an absurd $40 to a more reasonable $20. However, we still need to ask whether the game is worth that price on Nintendo Switch 2.
We need to start by looking at the original game on Nintendo Switch, because it’s an interesting case. The framerate is decent and the resolution is… okay… but there’s all sorts of nasty aliasing, ugly shadows, pop-in, and a weird environmental shimmering that just makes the game look ugly. I’m honestly not sure what’s going on here. It’s playable, but it does not look great.
So the good news is that playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 improves it in numerous ways. The original game had dynamic resolution, which tops out on Nintendo Switch 2 meaning the resolution overall looks pretty good. The framerates, also, are much smoother here. What’s more, the loading times seem to have been greatly improved too, with it taking 18 seconds to load up a game on Nintendo Switch and only 9 seconds on Nintendo Switch 2.
The bad news is that all of the problems I noted above are still present here, resulting in a game that still looks pretty terrible.
I would absolutely love to get a port of Saints Row: The Third Remastered on Nintendo Switch 2, as the game itself is still outstanding, and it would be nice to get a version of the game that actually looks good. Sadly, Nintendo Switch 2 owners will just have to manage with this version of the game which, while much-improved from what we got on Nintendo Switch, still leaves a lot to be desired.
tl;dr – Saint’s Row: The Third is a Grand Theft Auto-style Open-World Action-RPG with the absurdity level set to absolute maximum (including the sex and violence). The game still has some graphical issues even on Nintendo Switch 2, but they don’t interfere too much with the gameplay, which is absolutely brilliant, and well worth playing.
Grade: B+
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Saints Row IV: Re-Elected
Genre: Open-World Action-RPG
Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Wireless, Online)
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Review:
(Note: This game is included in the Saints Row: The Big Purple Package compilation, along with Saints Row: The Third: The Full Package)
Saints Row IV fared much better on Nintendo Switch than its predecessor, which means there’s much less to improve. In my original review, I complained about the $40 price tag, but that has since been reduced to a far more acceptable $20. However, the game still has plenty of aliasing and pop-in that’s not going to see any improvement on Nintendo Switch 2. So, what has been improved here?
As with its predecessor, the original game had dynamic resolution, which tops out on Nintendo Switch 2 meaning the resolution overall looks pretty good. The framerates, also, are much smoother here. What’s more, the loading times seem to have been greatly improved too, with it taking 30 seconds to load up a game on Nintendo Switch and only 12 seconds on Nintendo Switch 2.
Overall, this is a solid improvement over playing the game on the original Nintendo Switch, though not so great an improvement that the game feels transformed. It would be wonderful to get a full remake/remaster of this game like Saints Row: The Third got on other platforms, but with developer Volition shut down by its owner Embracer Group in 2023, that’s not likely to happen. So for Nintendo Switch 2 owners, this is probably the best they’re going to get when it comes to a version of this game to play on this hardware. Thankfully, it’s a pretty good version of the game, even if it still has some flaws.
tl;dr – Saint’s Row IV is a super-violent off-the-wall Open-World Action-RPG that starts out like Grand Theft Auto, but soon adds superpowers, becoming something more like Crackdown. It’s a solid port of a joyously good game made even better on Nintendo Switch 2, even if there are still some graphical issues still remaining.
Grade: A-
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Saints Row: The Big Purple Package
Genre: Compilation / Open-World Action-RPG
Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Wireless, Online)
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Review:
The Saints Row games have had a rocky time on Nintendo Switch largely thanks to a pretty lousy release for Saints Row: The Third, but that game was improved by a post-launch patch, and now we’re looking to see how much both games have improved in Saints Row: The Big Purple Package, a bundle containing both games.
In short, both games have seen quite an improvement, with increases to resolution and framerate, as well as much shorter loading times – the time to load up these games on Nintendo Switch was 18 seconds and 30 seconds, but on Nintendo Switch 2 that has been reduced to 9 seconds and 12 seconds, respectively. And once you’re in the game, the visuals are much more smooth.
That said, both games still bear all of the graphical flaws that weren’t tied to resolution and framerate, and that means both games have ugly aliasing and pop-in, and Saints Row: The Third still has horrendous shadows and a hideous graphical shimmering that makes the entire thing look quite ugly, despite the other improvements.
As a result of this, both games are definitely improved, but it’s Saints Row IV that looks much better at the end of the day, since it doesn’t have as much of the graphical baggage as the Nintendo Switch port of Saints Row: The Third does.
In any case, these are still two excellent games in an absolute steal of a bundle. Just don’t expect anything that looks even close to modern visuals, especially in Saints Row The Third.
tl;dr – Saints Row: The Big Purple Package is a Compilation of two Open-World Action-RPG games – Saints Row: The Third: The Full Package, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected. Both games are outstanding and highly-creative, even if the Nintendo Switch ports had to make unfortunate graphical cutbacks (though this is somewhat improved on Nintendo Switch 2), this package is a solid deal on the pair of them. If you missed out on these games, don’t mind dated graphics (and in Saints Row The Third, outright ugly visuals) and want some great Open-World Action on Nintendo Switch 2, do not miss this bundle.
Grade: A-
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I hope you enjoyed this latest batch of Nintendo Switch 2 Difference Mini-Reviews, and found them to be helpful! Want to see all Nintendo Switch 2 Difference comparisons? Check out this page for links to every article where I’ve included these comparisons!
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